The Pisa Cathedral marks the zenith of the architectural power of Pisa at the time of its creation by having bits from the Islamic, Byzantine, Lombard-Emilian, and classical architecture. Lying peacefully in the Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Square), it gleams in multi-colors, courtesy of the different types of marbles that it is adorned with, especially cosmatesque marble.

1. The marble facade

Unlike the exterior, the cathedral’s interior depicts much more decorations and ornamentations. The Romanesque façade of the cathedral is made of pastel-colored marble that is designed divinely by the students of Giambolongna.

While the three doors leading inside were constructed or cast after the deadly fire of 1595, an original door “The Door of San Ranieri” designed by Bonnano Pisano still stands and provides a way in from the southern transept.

2. Medieval and Renaissance art

The interior of the cathedral has a mixture of the Renaissance and Medieval architecture. This mixture has been a result of the fire of 1595. After the destruction of most of the Medieval parts of the cathedral, they were rebuilt in the Renaissance style as it was popular back then.

The surviving Medieval pieces include Tomb of Emperor Henry VII, originally sculpted by Tino di Camaino, and the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, which has been recently placed in its original place after being found dismantled.

Located in the Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Square), on the west coast of Italy, the Baptistery of Pisa forms one of the four buildings. In fact, it comes second in the chronological order, neighboring the Duomo di Pisa, the cathedral, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It is an ecclesiastical building, and throughout history, it has played a keen role in the religious scene in Pisa. This actually shows in the multiple architectural veils that it is draped in. The lower side has arches and pillars that hint towards the Romanesque style, but the upper levels show a stark Gothic style with pointed figures and closely spaced pillars.

The entrance to the edifice is covered with ornate pillars and reliefs, in which the upper one depicts the life of Saint John and the middle one shows Christ flanked by Saint John and Madonna and surrounded by several angels.

The Baptistery of Pisa – Where Galileo Was Baptized

This baptistery is famous for its architecture and also for the following things.

1. The Acoustics: Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni Pisano have done an outstanding job by designing the interior that it facilitates reverberations or acoustics. Anyone standing below the edge of the dome can have his voice echoed. Every 30 minutes, one of the employees would sing loud to demonstrate the power of its acoustics.

The Pisa Cathedral marks the zenith of the architectural power of Pisa at the time of its creation by having bits from the Islamic, Byzantine, Lombard-Emilian, and classical architecture. Lying peacefully in the Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Square), it gleams in multi-colors, courtesy of the different types of marbles that it is adorned with, especially cosmatesque marble.

Unlike the exterior, the cathedral’s interior depicts much more decorations and ornamentations.

The Romanesque façade of the cathedral is made of pastel-colored marble that is designed divinely by the students of Giambolongna.

While the three doors leading inside were constructed or cast after the deadly fire of 1595, an original door “The Door of San Ranieri” designed by Bonnano Pisano still stands and provides a way in from the southern transept.

Yes, it is possible to climb to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. You just don’t pose like you’re saving the leaning tower from falling with your tiny hands but you have to climb and see what’s up there. The views aren’t really impressive but climbing a leaning tower is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You don’t get to experience that anywhere else, right? Perhaps, this might be the only leaning tower you’d ever climbed on.

Before Climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa

First, you have to buy a ticket. The ticket booth is on the left side, across the green lawn. When buying, choose a time that’s convenient for you. They limit the number of people going up there for security reasons. When you’ve paid, go to the room next door and leave your things in a locked safe. They won’t allow backpacks or bags. Just bring your camera, phone or valuable things, like your wallet. Be sure to line up 10-15 minutes before your time.

Pisa is in the northwestern part of Italy. You can visit it for a day trip from Florence but make sure to go early to avoid the huge crowd. Take an early train, instead of going on tourist buses. It’s an hour and a half – depends which train you’re taking – from Florence and it’s a comfortable ride.

There are three main landmarks or tourist attractions to see in Pisa. They are: the Leaning Tower, the Pisa Cathedral / Duomo and the Baptistery where Galileo was baptized. They are located few steps from each other, no need to worry about public transport from one to another. In fact, you can take a shot of them in one photo frame. They all can be seen in half a day or less, depends on what your interests are and how long you wanna stay.

How to Get There

As soon as you exit from Pisa Central Station, you have two choices on how to get to the three main attractions in the city: take a bus or walk. There are two buses that go or pass by the famed tower.

I’d suggest to take the bus when you arrive early in the morning to see the sunrise and to beat the crowd. But, on your way back to the train station, you better walk. It a nice way to get to know a bit of the Italian city. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Open your Google Map steps away from the leaning tower and it gives you a route where it passes through squares, cafes and shopping lanes. When you reach the bridge, stop by and take selfies. It’s a nice view. And the bridge is also your landmark that you’ve almost arrive at the station. The leisurely stroll took me an hour and a half. But, if you’re intent on going back fast, it should take you between 20-30 minutes only.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a beautiful architectural accident. It is, perhaps, Italy’s most photographed landmark. It was never built to be leaning but just your normal, free standing bell tower you see around Italy. It was built during the Medieval Times in Romanesque style.

So, why is the Tower of Pisa leaning?

Well, apparently, the tower was built in a marshland. It started tilting on one side while construction was going on in the 12th century. And it continued tilting until it was stabilized in late 20th century! And guess what? It took 2 centuries to build this leaning tower! Can you imagine that? It’s longer that the Sagrada de Familia in Barcelona which is still until construction – after 134 years!

Best Time to Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Go early in the morning. It’s not just to avoid the crowd but to see the leaning tower in its photogenic time of the day – sunrise! If you arrived at noon or in the afternoon, you’ll be competing with a lot tourists doing the same pose – pretending to hold the tower from collapsing. And oh boy, it’s fun to watch them, too! If you’re not sure what your pose should be, watch and learn from them! Or scroll down and see what I did.

Yes, we have been in Florence since Tuesday, but we have been so busy trying to see everything that I haven’t had time to write. Now, 3 of the travelers are packing, getting ready to leave tomorrow. I hate to see them go. This has been another very good tour group. Lots of fun, and they got to have so many great experiences.

On Tuesday, we walked to our apartment from the train station, got settled in, then only had time for a brief walk before dinner.

On Wedensday, we went to the San Ambrogio mercato, got food for our meals, and everyone got to explore a bit, see the different stands and help choose our food.

Later, Massimo Carli, our landlord, and expert on Florentine history, took us for a guided walk through historic Florence. That was thoroughly enjoyable. We walked past Piazza Reppublica, across the Arno River by way of the Ponte Vecchio, and returned over Ponte Santa Trinita.

Later, once again we had dinner at the apartment, with our own Happy Hour first. I love having the apartments, as it is so nice that we can all sit around and visit, and go to bed when we feel like it.

Thursday we toured Pitti Palace. We wanted to go to the Boboli Gardens, but there had been a great deal of damage to the gardens from a hail storm the week before, so that was a disappointment. The ladies cured their disappointment by going shopping after lunch.

Friday was a very full day. We started by going to the Accademia to see David and other great works of art, followed by some going to the Uffizi Gallery, and others to the Galileo Museum.

Yesterday, Saturday, Massimo gave us another walking tour, this time in Pisa. He walked us from the train station to the Field of Miracles, explaining many of the historic sights along the way, and once again, we were all impressed with Massimo’s expertise and knowledge of the art and architecture of Pisa.

The Baptistry and The Duomo in Pisa. The Baptistry is amazing for its acoustics. One of the workers stood in the center of the Baptistry, sang a note, then another, and another. Because of the echoes, it sounded like 3 part harmony. We all had lunch together, then we had to catch our train back to Florence, and Massimo returned to Viareggio.

After a quick shower, we all walked to Il Latini, a wonderful, fun ristorante for dinner, and once again celebrated Nichole’s birthday.

This morning we walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo, so the ladies could see Florence from the great viewpoint up there. I never get tired of that view.

So now we are winding down for the evening. Susan is making our Happy Hour cocktails, the other ladies have given up on packing … At least for now, and then we will have our last dinner together, here at the apartment.

I must say good bye now, and will probably write another post in a few days, as I have not been able to use all the pictures I want to use.

I will be in Florence a few more days, then on to Sorrento, and after that, I will be returning home. Travel is such fun, but, yes, I miss my family, Frank and his family, as well as my little home. After that, who knows where my wandering will take me.

Our dear friend, Bella (Dolly Goolsby) is on the go again, this time in Italy. She has graciously allowed us to republish her travel blogs. Enjoy!

Once again, we have been very busy. Saturday we took the train to Pisa. Massimo Carli, our Italian landlord, met us at the train station, and gave us a guided walking tour through the city of Pisa, to the Field of Miracles.

Once we got to the Field of Miracles, Kiri and Patrick climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower. Massimo took the rest of us on a guided tour through the Duomo, the Baptistry and the Cemetery, which is in a huge marble building. All of these structures are amazingly beautiful. And the green lawns around the buildings are reported to be the finest lawns in all of Italy.

We were fortunate with the weather. We had lovely sunny skies right up until the time we were almost ready to leave. We found a nice trattoria nearby, and had a nice lunch. By the time we were finished with lunch, the rain had stopped. We leisurely walked back to the train station, and from Pisa we went to Viareggio. Magda was waiting for us in the Carli apartment. We had a lovely dinner with them, then we took the train back to Florence, getting there about 11:00 p.m.

It had been a long day, and we were all tired, but what a great day we had.